ekadashi or ekadasi is an auspicious day for hindus. it comes twice in the hindu calender month and falls on 11th day of each moon cycle (on dark and bright lunar phase). thus there are around 24 ekadashi in a year and each has its own significance. e.g. ashadi ekadashi is the most important ekadasi in the state of maharashtra.

fasting food is meant to be light and easy to digest. so that it does not pull you down energetically and you can easily devote your mind to the spiritual practices like mantra chanting, reading spiritual books or remembering the name of god or practicing meditation or your spiritual sadhana. e.g. “om namo bhagavate vasudevaya” – is a powerful mantra which you can chant on this day.

if you eat heavy food which is difficult to digest then all the energy of the body goes in digesting the food and it also makes you sleepy. so during fasting one should eat light and the kind of food which is easy to digest. so that all the energies can move towards god or towards your sadhana or towards the higher chakras. ekadashi is a very powerful day to make progress in spirituality.

i have shared a detailed post on navratri vrat rules which explains what food can be eaten on fasting days and what should not be eaten. so do check this post – navratri vrat rules and vrat ka khana. there are few more fasting recipes post on the blog for your easy reference.

disclaimer: ekadashi fasting rules can vary from community to community. so always follow the rule which is observed in your family, community or sect. e.g. some people do not eat anything on ekadashi. however some people keep partial fast and only eat fruits on this day, some eat light food once a day and some have two meals a day. so the procedure of ekadasi vrat can vary from person to person. but the main thing is that your energies should focus towards the higher goal of life that is to attain the divine. so follow the fasting rules as per your age, health constitution and other family duties and responsibilities. but make sure that you can direct your mind easily towards lord vishnu or your chosen deity on this day.

in this post, i am sharing a collection of recipes that can be made during ekadashi. also drink lot of water and fruit juices.

4. aloo tamatar curry – this is a delicious potato tomato curry made without onion-garlic and heavy ingredients or spices. a very easy and simple aloo tamatar sabzi which you can make for fasting days. you can serve the aloo tamatar curry with vrat ki roti or rajgira paratha or rajgire ki poori or kuttu ki poori.

5. kuttu ki khichdi – easy to prepare khichdi made with buckwheat groats (sabut kuttu), potatoes and peanuts for fasting. wholesome super food. you can serve buckwheat khichdi with a bowl of yogurt (curd or dahi) or with vrat ki kadhi. you can also check this kuttu ki poori recipe.

8. vrat ka chawal ka pulao – samvat pulao recipe is a simple and easy pulao. this sama rice pulao is made during navratri fasting or ekadashi fasting. sama rice are good health option during fasting days and also make a good gluten free grain. you can have them plain or with vrat ki kadhi. these are not a kind of rice variety or even associated with rice. basically they are from the millet family. the english name for sama ke chawal is barnyard millet. the other indian names for barnyard millet is vari, varai, sanwa, samwa and swang.